A short excerpt from the long opinion in Trent v. Trent, decided today by Nebraska Court of Appeals Judge Michael Pirtle, joined by Judges Lawrence Welch and PaTricia Freeman; the court affirmed the trial court's grant of custody to the mother (Liza):
Kenneth and Liza were married in June 2004 in the state of Washington. The parties had six children: Kyryi, born in 2005; Eli, born in 2006; Lailah, born in 2007; Levi, born in 2009, Brigham, born in 2011; and Cal, born in 2013….
Although Kenneth lists multiple reasons in his two assignments of error as to why Liza should not be awarded custody, he only specifically argues a few of them. Kenneth first argues that Liza had neglected the children's education by using the unschooling method to home school the children. {The method is an unstructured, child-driven education process where the children decide what to study and develop their own study strategies. There are no grades and no tests.} {During the divorce proceedings, Kenneth asked that the children be required to take independent testing to determine where they stood in their peer group with regard to their education. Liza testified that all the children, except Levi, tested either equivalent to or above their respective peer group. Kenneth would not admit at trial that with the exception of Levi, all of the children scored at least consistent with their peer group. He stated, "That's not how I read the test results."}
However, the court awarded the parties joint legal custody on the issue of education and gave Kenneth final decision-making authority as to home schooling or public/private school attendance. Therefore, the court essentially resolved Kenneth's concern regarding the children's education.
Kenneth next argues Liza should not have custody because of her parenting approach to personal hygiene, as well as the unkept condition of her home. Regarding hygiene, there was evidence that the children do not bathe in the traditional sense that most people do. The children do not shower or take baths on a regular basis, but, rather, they spot clean themselves and only bathe when they are dirty or have body odor. Similarly, the children do not brush their teeth on a daily basis, but, rather, only when they feel their teeth are dirty.
Regarding the condition of Liza's home, [court-ordered family counselor Theodore] DeLaet noted from his home visit that Liza's dining room had essentially been converted into a rabbit pen, Lailah's room also had a rabbit pen and stained carpet, and Cal's room smelled of body odor. Liza also pointed out various home repairs that needed to be made, but she could not afford them. DeLaet also observed that Liza and the children did not interact as a family during his visit.
